2002-’05 Ford Thunderbird
Ford’s two-seat, V-8 Thunderbird concept was a show-stopper on the 1999 car-show circuit. Created under the watchful eye of Ford design legend Jack Telnack, with details seen to by J Mays after Telnack’s 1997 retirement, it was sporty without being a sports car, luxurious without costing an arm and a leg, elegant yet modern, and comfortable without being excessive. Some fuss was made about the 11th-generation Thunderbird’s modern-retro style at the time: the eggcrate grille and driving light nacelles, the non-functional hood scoop, the round twin rear lights, the chromed script badging, the removable hardtop with the porthole, and the generous proportions with ample rear overhang. But these could easily just be seen as touchstones on an otherwise modern shape.
The production car’s platform was shared with the Jaguar S-Type (and later, the Jaguar XF) sedan. The Thunderbird also shared its platform with the Lincoln LS sedan. Its much-heralded arrival as a 2002 model, with the first models built in 2001, ensured a 19-month initial production run and sales numbers that far outstripped Ford’s 25,000-unit-per-annum
